Energy Balls | The Ultimate Recipe Guide!

Energy balls are the perfect healthy treat! No bake energy balls are gluten free and perfect for healthy snacks and breakfast on the go! This is the ONLY Energy Ball recipe you’ll ever need, plus six no bake energy ball flavor ideas!

I consider myself a bit of an energy ball aficionado. These sweet, no bake treats take minutes to throw together, are filled with good-for-you ingredients, and make for quick, portable breakfasts and snacks. I have made dozens of batches of energy ball recipes over the years, and while I’m constantly looking for fun ways to vary them up, inevitably, they come back to one simple, foolproof formula. Today, I’m sharing that master recipe for energy balls, along with all sorts of tasty ways to use it to create different energy ball flavors.

This handy guide is sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill.

Types of Energy Balls

Energy balls go by a variety of different names; energy bites, protein balls, power balls, and vegan truffles being but a few. There are dozens of recipes for energy balls across the web, several of which can be found on a certain website that rhymes with “swell dated.”

As much as I love trying different energy ball recipes and techniques, today’s basic energy ball recipe is the little black dress of them all. It’s comprised of four basic ingredients:

Primary Ingredients in No Bake Energy Balls

Oats. While you can use other flours, oatmeal is the champion. It’s filling, inexpensive, versatile, and gives me the sensation that I’m eating oatmeal cookie dough instead of a healthy snack. YES.

Sticky liquid sweetener (a.k.a. honey or pure maple syrup). I use honey the most, but maple syrup is a really nice option if you’d like vegan energy balls or are making a recipe like these Pumpkin Energy Balls where the maple syrup’s flavor complements the other ingredients.

Mix-ins! This is where the tasty experimentation begins. I like to do a combination of superfood additions, such as flaxseeds and chia seeds, along with ingredients I love purely for their taste, like chocolate, chopped dried fruit, and did I mention chocolate?

Let’s start with the oats. I use and recommend Bob’s Red Mill’s Gluten Free Rolled Oats, because they are high quality, high in fiber, and, for those with dietary concerns, truly gluten free. One of the questions I receive most often from readers is how I can state that my oatmeal recipes are gluten free, when most oats on the market run the risk of being cross-contaminated with gluten, a real concern for those diagnosed with celiac. My answer is Bob’s Red Mill. Their oats are produced in a safe, certified gluten-free facility.

Even if you don’t have a gluten intolerance, I still recommend Bob’s, because the company is dedicated to sourcing the best possible ingredients with the highest nutritional profile, including their hearty rolled oats.

Following the oats, we have the binding ingredients: nut butter and honey or maple syrup. I most often use honey and regular old peanut butter, but if you have a peanut allergy or just prefer a different kind of nut butter, any sort can be used. If you opt for the drippy “natural” refrigerated nut butter, your batter may be extra sticky. Simply add a few more tablespoons of oats to even it out, and you will be ready to roll.

Next, flaxseeds. Or chia seeds. Or whatever other superfood you bought a giant bag of at Costco on a whim and now need to use up.

You don’t need a food processor to make energy balls and no fancy equipment is needed. Pile everything into a bowl.

How to Make No Bake Energy Balls

Popular Mix-Ins Now that we have our base, we are ready for the Good Stuff: mix-ins!

While I’ve tried enough different mix-in combos to open an energy balls food truck, I most often find myself choosing chocolate chips and…whatever else I can find in my pantry.

Energy balls = legit excuse to eat chocolate at all times of day. I like this math.

If you aren’t a big chocolate fan, we can’t be friends fear not. I have non-chocolate options for you too!

While there are many other methods to make energy balls that range from soaking and blending dried fruit in the food processor to using assorted grains and nut flours instead of oatmeal, today’s master oatmeal energy ball recipe is the one I return to again and again. It’s simple, I always have the ingredients I need to make it on hand, and I only need to wash one bowl at the end.

With the approach of back to school/life craziness at large, this easy energy ball recipe is also the one that I thought was most important to share with you today. They take just 10 minutes to prep, can last 2 weeks in the refrigerator or in the freezer forever (or until you remember they are in there and immediately eat them), and are endlessly adaptable, so you’ll never tire of them.

I have a short video showing you the energy ball step-by-steps, as well as highlighting a few of my favorite combos. Once you’ve worked your way through those, be sure to check out the other energy ball recipes linked at the bottom of the post.

OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIE:

Instructions

Place all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl: oats, power mix-ins, nut butter, sweetener, vanilla extract, salt, mix-ins, and any other spices you'd like to add. Stir to combine. If the mixture seems too wet, add a bit more oats. If it's too dry, add a bit more nut butter. It should resemble a somewhat sticky dough that holds together when lightly squeezed. Place the bowl in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to set (this will make the balls easier to roll later on).

Remove the bowl from the refrigerator and portion the dough into balls of desired size. (I use a cookie scoop to make mine approximately 1 inch in diameter). Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

Store leftover energy balls in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or freeze for up to 3 months.

For nut allergies: In place of the almond or peanut butter, try sunflower seed butter.

I am sharing this post in partnership with Bob’s Red Mill. As always, all opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands and companies that make it possible for me to continue to create quality content for you! For more healthy recipe inspiration, coupons, or to find a store that carries Bob’s Red Mill products near you, visit bobsredmill.com.

Marcia, they will be really REALLY soft, but if that doesn’t bother you, I think that could be a good experiment! I’d press them into a pan get them VERY cold, then slice. They will soften at room temp, so I’d take them out of the refrigerator shortly before eating.

I’ve got to confess that I’ve never ever tried an energy bal. don’t hate me. I never buy protein bars either. I’m just not that into that sort of thing. That being said, if I were to ever explore that whole energy snack realm, I would most certainly start with your recipes which have always proven to be well-tested and delicious.

I was wondering if you still needed (did you ever?) recipe ideas that could be lightened up or updated? I made an incredible chicken dish on Friday but would love to bring it into 2017 as carefully and thoughtfully as possible because it is one of the best things I’ve ever made. It’s called Chicken Marbella. I’d love to see what you could do with it!

Marina, if you are looking for a healthy snack, energy balls are a great place to start. They don’t taste like typical protein bars. Actually they remind me of cookie dough :) I’m not able to promise anything with specific recipe requests (it’s hard to find time to do as much as I’d like!), but I’m always open to new ideas and would love to see the recipe regardless. You can feel free to email it to me if you like. Erin{at}wellplated{dot}com.

Yum! These will be perfect for an upcoming, week long, camping trip full of outdoor fun. And the little fingers in the family will be inticed to gobble them down too! Bonus; they are diabetic friendly. Perfect timing!

Great question, Stacy! I haven’t tried it myself, but you can play around with adding protein powder. You’ll need to add some additional nut butter and/or honey to offset the fact that the protein powder will probably make them more dry. The good news, however, is that nut butter has more protein AND offers healthy fats, so you’ll still be getting a nice nutritional boost. You could also try these cookie dough balls, which already have protein powder added.

I usually grind the flax seeds to a dustbin the coffee grinder because my kids (adults ?) won’t eat them if they see “foreign items” in there ?. I’ve been adding them to their protein smoothies for years ??

I tried this recipe and was pleasantly surprised at how good it was! I made the basic chocolate chip recipe (for an alternative sweet snack) and it was delicious. It really fills you up. I am going to try the white chocolate almond next.

I’ve made these twice already. They’ve become quite the hit in the house. I love that they’re so easy to throw together. I only use flax seeds as the “power mix-in” and I grind them to get the omega-3 benefits. Have only made them with chocolate chips as the optional add-in.

The Hubs really likes them because he’s trying to lose weight and these provide that lovely “sweet-pop” while still be healthy. Thx so much for the recipe! :)

I’ll be trying these this week – they all look yummy! One note – I redid my oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe to use flaxseed meal, chocolate chips, Bob’s Red Mill unsweetened Flaked Coconut, and dried cherries. You might like that combo in these too. :)

Hi, thanks for these. I have a thing to ask. How we add flavor option? As an example how much we add nut butter and honey to 1/2 cup chocolate chip in 1st flavor category? I mean we have to add only chocolate chip to the base recipe or add more nut butter and honey? If we add what r the quantities? Thanks All the best!

I made these today. They are SO good. I added chia and flax, unsweetened coconut, tossed in some dried cherries and a few unsalted peanuts, and added 1/2 t Ceylon cinnamon. The cinnamon adds a subtle little hint of flavor. Absolutely yummy. Thanks for a great recipe.

Delicious! I’ve made many varieties of energy bites, and I think these were the best. I started with your base, using 2 tablespoons of ground flax seed and used chocolate chips and coconut for my “mix-ins.” Thanks for the recipe!

This recipe is terrible! We ate them all in less than a day lol. Thank you so much for simplifying what I thought Needed to be a complicated and expensive 20 ingredient process. These will be a new stable for feeding my very active teen….and me as a fitness instructor always on the go.

I used your basic recipe and added trail mix that I had and added some stevia sweetened chocolate chips. They were so good that my husband is asking for more. I love that they don’t need any equipment to make, just a bowl and something to mix the ingredients in.

I have now made these several times and they have been a huge hit with my husband. I even served them as a quick dessert with friends. Recipe shared. Today I made a double batch using GF oats, unsweetened coconut, raw almond butter, stevia sweetened chocolate chips, almond extract and walnuts. I have also used trail mix for the add in in other batches. This is definitely what we call a “keeper” in our house.

Hi Laura! This recipe may be able to be stored at room temperature, but the tricky part about most no bake energy ball/bar recipe is that the fridge really helps them stay firm. You could take a look at this recipe, which can be stored at room temp! https://www.wellplated.com/peanut-butter-protein-bars/

These are FABULOUS! I just made the chocolate chip ones and can’t get enough! I’ve had the hardest time finding an energy ball without protein powder or coconut flakes as a required ingredient. Thank you for this wonderful recipe!!

I love the variety of your energy balls and the photos. I used your base recipe and pretty much the Almond Joy variation (except instead of almonds, we used ground up pecans). The problem was it would not stick together even though we refrigerated it. I saw your notes, if it is wet do this verses if it is “dry.” I had no idea what was what so first we added more peanut butter and honey mixed it and tried again but it was too sticky with peanut butter on our hands after using a cookie scoop to get the appropriate size out. So then I added more oatmeal and coconut flakes and it was better. It takes a bit to get used to forming tight balls but we did it! We tripled your recipe and ate half of it already. I’m not sure how to add a photo but thank you for your recipe. Your site looks like you’ve been at this a while- great job!

This is such a great recipe, I use it all the time! Recently I’ve been adding ground ginger to my honey and peanut butter energy balls and they’re absolutely delicious. I think next time I’ll try with other spice combinations, thank you for the tips!

Thank you so much for these wonderful recipes! I don’t buy protein bars often but when I do I always have trouble with finding bars that have enough protein, aren’t too sugared and don’t taste like fake candy.

I am looking forward to making these to bring to work for a healthy snack that is an alternative to a protein bar. I am a fan of Bob’s Red Mill too (especially as a gluten free eater) so I am looking forward to using their oats.